I love a potato salad without mayonnaise and my Dill Pesto is the perfect alternative. This Dill Pesto Potato Salad has amazing flavors of dill goodness, with the addition of roasted red bell peppers, the crunch and sweetness of the orange bell peppers and corn and a touch of spice from the red onion. It makes a great side dish and it’s delicious served cold or hot.
After I made the dill pesto, I thought how perfect would it be for a potato salad and boy did it turn out delectable! It is the perfect salad to take to a potluck or on a picnic.
This dill potato salad pairs well with a cold glass of Rosé or a white wine of your choice.
Dill Pesto Potato Salad Recipe
5 – 7 Servings
- 5 Large or 2 1/2 pounds Red Potatoes – cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 Tablespoons White Vinegar
- 1 Recipe Dill Pesto – (recipe below)
- 1 Large Red Bell Pepper – roasted – deseed – destemmed – diced
- 1 Small Orange Bell Pepper – diced
- 1/4 Red Onion – diced
- 1 Corn Cob – cut off cob or 1/2 Cup Frozen – thawed
- 1 Tablespoon Champagne Vinegar
- 1 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt or to taste (don’t add too much)
- 1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
Pesto
- 2 Cups Fresh Dill Leaves
- 3/4 Cup Raw Walnuts
- 3/4 Cup Aged Asiago Cheese
- 1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1 – 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt or to taste
Instructions:
Potatoes & Corn
Dice the potatoes into half inch chunks and put in a large pot covered in water. Add the vinegar and bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-high heat. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes or until opaque and soft. Make sure and check on them every 10 minutes, you don’t want mushy potatoes or too hard. The best way is to taste them. Cut the corn off the cob and add to a large bowl.
When the potatoes are done, pour into a colander, drain and then dump them on the corn. This will cook the corn perfectly. While the potatoes are cooking make the pesto.
Roasted Pepper
Roast peppers of your choice on the stovetop on medium-high heat. A gas stove works the best but it will work fine on an electric stove. Char the peppers on all sides turning with a pair of tongs. When good and charred, steam them for 10 minutes in a covered dish or a paper bag rolled shut to hold in the steam.
Take a paper towel and rub off the char. It’s ok to leave a little of the char.
Dill Pesto
Pick of the dill leaves, for the most part, you can grab one end of the stem and pull all the leaves off at once. Peel the garlic, finely shred the cheese then measure all ingredients and add everything to a food processor or blender. Blend until well combined, scraping down the sides a couple times. Mix in the vinegar, salt and pepper.
The rest
Thinly slice the onion, cut the orange bell pepper into thin strips or dice and dice the red bell pepper. Add to the potatoes along with the pesto mix and carefully stir everything together.
Health Benefits:
Red Potatoes are a good source of essential iron, which supports red blood cell function bringing oxygen to your tissues. They are a good source of vitamin C and have significant amounts of copper and zinc. The copper keeps your nervous system healthy and boosts the immune system also helping your body absorb iron.
Dill has monoterpene which helps to protect the body from the harmful effects of free radicals, it has a positive effect on lowering blood sugar levels in people with diabetes, it also contains vitamins and dietary fibers which further help bring down the levels of bad cholesterol. It helps to promote menstrual flow and is also beneficial for intestinal spasms, gas and indigestion. Dill is a very good source of calcium, which is important for reducing bone loss. It also contains four flavonoids, one being quercetin, which helps prevents inflammation. It is a good source of manganese, iron and magnesium.
Red Bell Peppers are matured green bell peppers and have more nutrition as they mature. They are super high in vitamin A which helps to support healthy eyesight, especially night vision and are extremely high in vitamin C, so much so they have twice as much as an orange which makes it really good for the skin. Red peppers are one of the highest veggies in lycopene, and have been successfully tested in the prevention of many cancers. They have a good source of the antioxidant mineral manganese and B-complex and vitamin E. They help reduces ‘bad’ cholesterol, helps controls diabetes and helps reduce pain. They are also a good source of fiber, folate, vitamin K, molybdenum and manganese.
